The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

If you’ve ever wondered why your credit card bills are postmarked in Utah, Delaware, Virginia, or South Dakota, and why your interest rates are higher than you think should be legal, the map above might help.

Banks charter new usurious subsidiaries in states with high or non-existent caps on interest rates. Those subsidiaries then issue the credit cards. And here’s the catch: Even if you live in a state with a modicum of consumer protection, you’re out of luck if your credit card issuer sets up shop in Rapid City or Provo. The laws of the bank’s state, not yours, govern your rights.

So since the legislators in those states don’t have the stones to stand up to the banks’ lobbyists and their gift baskets of cash, everyone else in the country pays the price. Thanks so much.

For a good backgrounder on why credit cards can suck as much as they do, PBS’s Frontline has a great overview of the history of plastic money. Thanks to reader Billifer who pointed us to Mental Floss’s post, that riffed off Pennylicious, that was relying entirely on the PBS report we mentioned earlier. Jeez, what a mess.